August 4, 2008

Bosch PS20 12-Volt Max Pocket Driver Arrives for Review

Since we're all in favor of a seriously strong driver that can fit in a nail pouch, we're pretty happy that Bosch has just released their 12-Volt Max Pocket Driver. It's sort of an upgrade of their 10.8-volt driver, but not the way you think. The new tool is capable of 100 inch-pounds of torque and a speed of 500 rpm, both 25% upgrades from the previous model.

The way it is not an upgrade is in the battery. We know you're saying, "what the eff? The new one is a 12-volt and the old one is a 10.8-volt! That's an upgrade, morons." Not really. What has happened is that when Bosch released the original tool they called it 10.8-volts, using the nominal voltage of the battery. But then other companies started putting out similar tools and referring to them by their maximum voltage, which is 12-volts. So the battery is the same (same look, same charger, etc.), but it just has a new name so Bosch won't get screwed on the shelves. Think about it, if you're at the store looking at a 10.8-volt tool and a 12-volt tool for the same price, you're going to think that you're getting a better deal with the 12-volt. We can't say we blame them for the name change.

The 12-Volt Max is going to cost around the same as the 10.8-Volt, which is in the area of $120.

We're going to bring this little guy to the job site and see how it holds up. More soon.

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